Saving Brains in Lubulini: A Sustainable Model for Early Childhood Stimulation

In Swaziland, 63% of the population lives below the poverty line and chronic food insecurity has left one in four children suffering from stunted growth (WHO, 2010). With the world’s highest HIV prevalence (26%, MICS 2010), many Swazi households are coping with the impact of HIV, which affects 42% of pregnant women (WFP 2016).

Saving Brains in Lubulini: A Sustainable Model for Early Childhood Stimulation (ECS) draws on evidence-based models to offer a sustainable, community-based, integrated package to HIV-exposed mothers and babies in rural Swaziland (Lubulini). The objectives are to measure the effect of a comprehensive, community-based intervention on parenting behaviors and children’s well-being and development within HIV-affected households in Swaziland. The pilot program aims to secure the futures of 260 children, addressing the acute needs of infants across the first 1000 days of life when brain development is crucial.